draw.io Desktop

jgraph/drawio-desktopReviewed by AI

What it does

draw.io Desktop is the official offline version of the draw.io (diagrams.net) diagram editor. You can draw flowcharts, UML, network and org charts, mind maps and floor plans, and export them to PDF, PNG or SVG. It is for anyone who needs diagrams at work or school. Windows, macOS and Linux installers are ready to download, including a per-user MSI and a portable zip for Windows that need no administrator rights. The README says diagrams stay on your computer and the app only goes online to check for updates.

How easy it is to install

A · download and open · Windows

Windows A
macOS A
Linux A

Every release ships ready files for all three systems: a Windows .exe installer plus a per-user .msi and a portable .zip that need no administrator rights, .dmg files for Intel and Apple Silicon Macs, and .deb, .rpm and .AppImage for Linux. You download one and open it.

Numbers on GitHub

Stars: 63,731on Oct 31, 2026
Downloads: 148,402,111898,486 this week
Growth: +67stars in 5 days

Stars over time

Facts

Runs on: Windows, macOS, Linux
You need to install: Nothing extra
To build from source: Node.js
Disk space: 142 MB–427 MB · from the installer
Accounts or keys: None
Cost: Free · Free under GPL v3. The README says support is only through the repository and "There is no private ticketing support for non-paying users".
License: GPL-3.0 (Copyleft)
Can replace: Visio, Lucidchart, Miro
Last update: Oct 26, 2026

Risk signals (4)

Infobackground auto update
README Updates: with the Windows .exe, macOS and AppImage builds "new versions download in the background", and the Security section says it "checks github.com once a day for a newer version and downloads it from an AWS S3 bucket". You can turn it off with `DRAWIO_DISABLE_UPDATE=true` or `--disable-update`.
AI review
Infoexternal media in diagrams
README Security: "a diagram can reference external media ... these are fetched when the diagram is opened ... Opening a diagram from an untrusted source may therefore trigger a request to the referenced URL, which can reveal metadata such as your IP address to that server; no diagram content is transmitted."
AI review
Infoclosed to contributions
README: "draw.io is closed to contributions (unless a maintainer permits it, which is extremely rare)." The code is public but outside fixes are not accepted.
AI review
Infoone windows installer needs admin rights
README Windows installation: the NSIS installer "Installs **per-machine** into `Program Files` and **requires administrator privileges**", and its updates also ask for admin rights. The .msi and the zip do not.
AI review

Evidence is shown in its original language.

What Radar could not check

Whether the app really makes no network calls besides update checks, as the README states
How well it opens and saves Visio (.vsdx) files compared with Visio itself
Real disk use after installation
Whether the Linux AppImage starts on your system, since the README describes a clash with older AppImageLauncher versions